Addressing a press conference here, Confederation Chairman Ram Raj said that the people belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes had been deprived of the constitutional rights by various governments of the past.According to Ram, at least 1.9 lakh government posts were still lying vacant in Maharashtra but the State government had not taken any concrete action to fill up these posts.

``While there are 120 secretaries in the Union government and 500 equivalent officers, there are hardly any Dalits occupying these posts. The cream of the government posting still goes to the upper castes and candidates of the general category,'' said Ram.

Extending its support to any party that would take up the reservation issue in the country, he said that the Confederation was seekingparties that would ensure the implementation of the reservation policy as promised in the Constitution. He added that the party supporting the reservation policy would come to power in New Delhi.

Opposing the privatisation of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) particularly in Navi Mumbai, he said despite the fact that the private sectors borrowed huge loans from the government, it had failed to open its doors to Dalit candidates.

The Confederation has planned a massive convention in Mumbai on Monday.